Dewberry Stream.
A matte-black sedan was parked in the shadows of the nearby forest. Inside were four women: Chaos Diva Daidalos, Dead Frenzy Sword Princess Sonia, Incessant Sword Princess Trozan, and Catastrophe Messenger Claire.
Apart from them, four other vehicles were dispersed throughout the surrounding darkness, awaiting the descent of the meteorite. To seize the golden apple, the Starry Four Pillars had mobilized almost their entire combat force, pulling out all the stops to ensure nothing went wrong.
Claire belonged to the type whose code name was closely tied to her everyday identity. As head of the Meteorological Office’s Third Technical Department, she was responsible for studying the potential adverse effects of meteorological changes on different regions. Yet compared to the other three, she appeared far more nervous, anxiously biting her fingernails.
"Oh? Where did you get your nails done? They even have a fluorescent glow," Sonia asked suddenly. "They look really nice."
Claire looked flattered. "At the Night Championship Showcase in Sunset Hall. I have a membership there."
"Sunset Hall isn't far from Sword Flower. When we have time, we could go get our nails done together."
"That would be wonderful! There are several styles from that salon I’d love to recommend—like the Radiant series and the Blemishine series. The Purifying patterns are gorgeous too, and their classic Midnight style is great. They also have styles designed specifically for sword sorcerers, so whether you're an Arts Fighter, a Lord, or a Dreadnought, it won't affect your grip on your blade..."
It was clear Claire was a manicure enthusiast. She enthusiastically bombarded the village girl with recommendations, even making plans to get their nails done together next Saturday. Having found a common topic, Claire grew much bolder. Seeing that Sonia was just a fresh, delicate female university student, she lowered her voice and asked, "Sword Seat, how did you and the Observer Seat meet?"
"It's a secret." The Reaching-Claw Sword Saint kept her lips sealed tight.
"Then... are you two in mutual love? Do you both like each other?"
Without the slightest hesitation, Sonia answered decisively, "Yes!"
"How wonderful," Claire said, her eyes brimming with longing. "Pure, true love... Aside from the Diva's television dramas, that sort of thing is virtually nonexistent in reality. That's why I'm still single even now..."
"That's just because your standards are too high," Trozan remarked casually. "Even I know the line of your suitors could stretch all the way from the Meteorological Office to the House of Nobles."
"They're too calculating. I don't like that." Claire clasped her hands together, her eyes sparkling. "What I yearn for is a soulmate whose heart understands mine. Someone who will suddenly appear in my life, and then—"
"Let me issue a disclaimer first,"
Daidalos interjected. "The dramas I act in are all made up. In this world, no man is going to suddenly barge into your life and turn your world upside down—unless you're talking about the Four Pillar Gods—"
"Not necessarily."
Everyone turned to look at the Reaching-Claw Sword Saint in astonishment. Claire even grabbed Sonia's arm, her tone a mix of envy and excitement. "Could it be that the Observer Seat is the very person who suddenly transformed your life? Did he whisk you away into a new world like a wish-granting shooting star?"
The village girl could hardly conceal her smug delight, though outwardly she cleared her throat. "I can't say. It's a secret."
"Come on, tell us! Was it love at first sight, or did love grow over time?"
"I think for him, it was love at first sight." The Reaching-Claw Sword Saint sounded brimming with confidence.
"Who confessed first?"
Sonia froze. She racked her memory—did they... had they... maybe... perhaps skipped that step entirely?
It felt as if they had simply gravitated together naturally, growing inseparable like water finding its course, without ever going through the offensive charge of a formal confession. But with a subordinate asking, a boss could hardly back down now. "Of course it was him!"
The miracle of rewriting history had been activated; from this day forth, even if a Divine Lord came asking, it would still be Yaxiu who had confessed first.
"You and the Observer Seat are both so outstanding, there must be others who fancy you," Claire asked. "Did you two ever go through misunderstandings, falling for someone else, breakups, or turbulence like in the dramas?"
"No, none at all."
"The ideal, pure-love couple of my dreams!" Claire wore the yearning expression of a young girl. "So Sword Seat only has the Observer Seat in her heart?"
"Hmph, you could say that!"
"And the Observer Seat only has Sword Seat in his heart?"
Sonia paused for a split second. "Naturally! Who else would there be?"
"Wow!" Claire clenched her fists and pressed her lips together as if tasting the sweetest candy, stars practically shining in her eyes. "I believe in love again!"
Daidalos smiled. "If Claire ends up single for the rest of her life, it'll all be your fault, Sword Seat."
Right at that moment, a voice sounded through everyone's communication earpieces: "Vehicle approaching from the northwest."
Everyone immediately raised their binoculars. Peering through the gaps between the trees, they spotted a sedan driving onto the pebbled riverbed road of Dewberry Stream. Though named a stream, it was currently dry in this season, a place where white-tailed deer often roamed at night.
Four people stepped out of the vehicle, all dressed in hooded robes—three men and one woman. Blue-star triangular runes hovered around them, though in varying numbers.
"Two Sanctuary Armor Barons, two Gold Bow Barons," Daidalos said. "A textbook retrieval squad."
"They dispatched two Sanctuaries just to retrieve a meteorite?"
"They have manpower to spare anyway. When it comes to golden apples, the Church would rather expend extra personnel than risk any accidents," Daidalos explained. "Still, this works out well. Since they arrived first, it'll make our ambush that much easier."
The Four Pillar Cult had never intended to steal the golden apple on the sly. If the golden apple vanished, the Church would immediately notify the Law Lord, sparking an all-out war right then and there.
From the very beginning, their plan was to take down these Church nobles first and modify their memories, making them believe they had already completed the retrieval, thereby deceiving both the Church and the Law Lord. As for who would handle the memory wipe, it was naturally Chaos Diva Daidalos.
According to rumors circulating outside, Daidalos primarily practiced sound sorcery, but Sonia clearly didn't buy that. As for what faction the most beautiful woman beneath the starry skies actually specialized in, Sonia had asked before, but Daidalos had refused to answer; she could only deduce it through real combat.
The Church nobles suddenly split up and took positions at four corners, seemingly erecting a miracle barrier. Once the miracle barrier was fully established, a piercing glare abruptly flared across the sky.
The air currents began to churn, and a roaring howl swept toward the earth from afar. Tremendous pressure pressed down upon everyone through the sedan. Everyone realized—the meteor was falling!
Boom!
In just a few seconds, a meteor streaked across the celestial canopy and slammed down onto the riverbed of Dewberry Stream!
Surprisingly, however, the crash and tremor were remarkably faint. The surrounding areas of Jialesi would likely only feel their water glasses rattle slightly, completely unaware that a meteor had landed.
Such a phenomenon defying the laws of physics was clearly the work of the Church nobles. The miracle barrier they had erected was tailor-made for the meteor, perfectly neutralizing the physical impact caused by its descent. Moreover, judging by their punctual arrival, the Church's retrieval process had been refined into an art form.
"All units, remember your assignments," Sonia opened the car door and issued a calm order. "Operation First Sky Light, commence!"
Thump!
The Church nobles, who had just dispelled the barrier and were preparing to collect the meteorite, turned around only to be met by a tempestuous onslaught of miracles!
"Mind Blast"! "Blade of the Hidden Hand"! "Silent Screech"!
"Feeblemind"! "Halo"!
The first wave of miracles unleashed were all virtually devoid of sound and light effects, yet possessed potent crowd-control and lethal power capable of bypassing Sanctuaries. In the blink of an eye, the four Church nobles had their limbs severed, their sight and hearing temporarily blocked, their cognitive faculties severely sluggish, and their souls rocked so violently that even their sorcery spirits were shaken senseless.
Body sorcerers rushed forward to fasten sorcery collars onto the Church nobles, while Sonia flew straight toward the crater—she had only one task: retrieve the golden apple!
Originally, this task was meant for Felix, because only someone without the Blessing of the Stars could touch a golden apple without triggering the blessing's link that would transmit it into the starry sky. However, not just anyone could touch a golden apple; a sorcerer needed to be at least a Sanctuary to barely resist its negative backlash. Yet in the Starry Kingdom, a Sanctuary sorcerer who had never received the Blessing of the Stars was practically nonexistent.
The Four Pillar Cult had originally planned to nurture Felix to the Sanctuary realm, but circumstances changed faster than plans could keep up. With Sonia leading the team, Felix was free to stay behind and serve as Yaxiu's caretaker.
The wind rushed past Sonia's ears. Even though she was in the midst of a major event capable of turning the tides of history, the village girl's heart remained remarkably calm. She was the kind of person who performed better the grander the stage—or perhaps this was the influence of her Rainbow Blessing, "Clamor."
In the end, she could never belong to quietude.
Still, Sonia didn't need to exert much effort. The plan the Four Pillar Cult had prepared for so long naturally encountered no hitches. The Church nobles had been subdued before they could mount any resistance—
"Ahhh?!"
Hearing the Sword Seat's uncharacteristically startled scream, Daidalos immediately asked, "What happened?"
"The meteorite is gone!" Sonia crouched in the crater and touched the soil inside. "The dirt has been overturned... There's an earth sorcerer who can burrow underground!"
Daidalos turned around at once. "Catastrophe Messenger!"
"Understood!"
Claire stomped her high heel down hard, and ripples of vibration instantly rippled out across a radius of kilometers—the Meteorological Office's Third Technical Department was specifically dedicated to researching geological disasters!
"Six hundred and seventy meters to the northeast, right at a gap in our perimeter!" Claire pointed. "He's about to break through!"
"Damn it!" Sonia swore aloud, flying at the forefront as she gave chase.
Daidalos had prepared this plan for years, accounting for every possible contingency and even preparing reserve units. How could an accident still happen?!
A vehicle that supposedly held only four people was hiding a fifth earth sorcerer?
Sonia didn't even know how to describe her feelings. She only felt her heart turning colder while her blood ran hotter.
Yaxiu had finally arrived in the Starry Kingdom, only to be placed on the Throne Room's wanted list; they had finally been on the verge of going on a date, only for him to be dragged into the Country of All Stars;
A covert operation that should have been effortless had still encountered a blunder. If it blew their cover now, their grand ambition to shatter the starry sky would become a complete joke...
She hadn't been able to settle Yaxiu down safely. She hadn't gone to face death with him. She hadn't managed to rescue him.
She had accomplished nothing.
Sonia flicked out her spring sword. Her eyes grew redder, and her aura turned increasingly restrained, like a solitary sword piercing through the woods. The birds and crawling insects resting here suddenly stiffened, tumbling to the ground dead one after another.
A silhouette suddenly appeared in her vision. Without any hesitation, she unleashed Blood Moon Shattered Lake like a sweeping torrent of blood, crushing forward from afar—
"Sword Seat, it's me! We caught him!"
The river of blood instantly dissipated. Sonia flew down and landed, seeing 'Vase' holding an unconscious Church noble in her hand. The noble still tightly clutched a stone that glowed with a faint golden radiance—it was none other than the meteorite housing the golden apple!
"Well done!" The Reaching-Claw Sword Saint exhaled a long breath of relief. But Daidalos, who had caught up from behind, questioned sharply, "Vase, this isn't your assigned sector. Why did you disobey orders and abandon your post? Besides, you don't know earth sorcery!"
Sonia snapped back to her senses. Right!
Vase capturing the escapee was undeniably a major merit, but how had she abandoned her defensive sector in defiance of orders? One couldn't forget that this was an operational command personally issued by "Queen" Sonia. If Vase could disobey it, wouldn't that mean others could defy the Sword Seat's commands as well?
"She didn't abandon her post."
From the depths of the forest, a massive dark silhouette suddenly entered the sight of the Four Pillar Cultists. "Because that was my order."
Daidalos instantly stepped in front of Sonia, her expression grim. "Who are you? Why would Vase obey your orders?"
The village girl's complexion turned thoroughly unsightly at that moment, because... she had already recognized the owner of that voice.
Aided by the faint starlight filtering through the leaves, everyone saw a dark-haired girl walk out from behind 'Vase.' She wore an exquisite black-and-white dress, her high boots crunching crisply against the fallen leaves. Behind her loomed the massive phantom of a Bronze Dragon.
The black-and-white maiden showed the back of her hand to everyone. On it was the imprint of a golden pocket watch, but instead of clock hands, five gems formed the hands, slowly revolving.
Daidalos was completely dumbfounded. She looked at the black-and-white maiden, then turned back to look at the Dead Frenzy Sword Princess.
"A second... 'Queen'?"
When the gem hand struck twelve o'clock, the Bronze Dragon behind her let out a clear, melodious chime and dissolved into smoke. Before everyone's eyes, the black-and-white maiden gradually transformed into a delicate, lovely white-haired little girl.
"Sword Princess, it's been three days. I arrived right on time," Witch Diya said calmly. "Take me to Yaxiu."
Chapter 813